The Important Things in Life
by titaniumroze
Summary: The lead up to Lily meeting James's parents for the first time. Written for the lovely Lauren {DOJ (fanfiction) / separatefiction (tumblr)} for the Jily Secret Santa :)


**I started writing this as a Jily fic and then thought – what if she doesn't like Jily pairings? Then I checked your blog and yes – you love them! And then I went **_**duh, it's a JILY Secret Santa! **_**I might write a sequel this – the actual meeting.**

**This was written for DOJ (fanfiction) or separatefictions (tumblr). We both took part in a Jily Secret Santa competition and this was the result. Ta da! Hope you like it Lauren :D**

**Summary: the lead up to Lily meeting James's parents for the first time.**

**Prompt: meet the parents.**

**Disclaimer: this will not be, and never will be, me claiming to own Harry Potter.**

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"And then Lily swooped in and gave us all a week's worth of detentions!" James finished exuberantly. Sirius rolled his eyes; he had heard this story too many times before for his liking.

James Potter was currently stretched out luxuriantly on a plush red sofa, his black hair touching the cushion at one end, his toes propped up over the arm rest at the other. He was dressed casually in muggle clothes – the new fashion – which included a pair of scrappy blue jeans, battered red converse shoes and a red Wigtown Wanderers top Sirius had discarded.

Sirius Black was slumped on the edge of another sofa, half listening to James's retelling of this particular story, half listening to the Rockin' Red Caps new single on his favourite muggle contraption of the day, a Sony Walkman. He was also wearing muggle clothes, but he had opted for the more rebellious black jeans tarnished with oil stains from his new motorbike, worn combat boots, a dark Ballycastle Bats top with the red bat charmed off, and a old leather jacket he was particularly fond of.

They had just finished a particularly delicious breakfast of pancakes, chocolate and bacon. Not the most conventional breakfast, they knew, but it was nice to eat. They'd then moved into the often used family room and chucked themselves onto whatever seats had presented themselves, rubbing their full bellies appreciatively. James's mum had followed them in, having just finished a night shift at the auror's office.

"Who's this Lily girl, James?" Mrs Potter asked worriedly from where she was perched on the end of James's red leather sofa. She was wearing ordinary robes for around the house and her hat was tossed to the other side of the room after a long night's work at the office. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, and her arms were loosely propped behind her head. Her old oak wand poked out of her robe's pocket, ready for quick access at a moment's notice.

She was looking at her son with a mixture of concern and amusement. "She seems to be giving you a lot of hassle." Sirius groaned loudly at the scenario her words would surely cause and fell back onto the cushions of his long sofa, his arm covering his eyes. James, as Sirius had foreseen, hastily jumped in to correct his mum from her assumptions.

"No, no, no! Lily's not like that at all! She great! Actually, she's my –" James's voice became muffled as Sirius' hand slapped over his face. Sirius had jumped up from his sprawled position and prevented him from speaking any further with his hand.

"Mmph!" James protested. He waved his arms around, trying to hit Sirius on the head to get him to release him. Yet Sirius hadn't been Gryffindor's best beater for nothing. He held on tight, ducking each blow as it came to him. Eventually, a particularly hard one caught him on the head, causing him to let go of James.

He staggered away and flopped back onto his sofa, clutching at his head and glaring at James. He attempted to mouth a message to James several times but James's face just became more confused each time. Eventually, Sirius gave up, letting out a frustrated sigh and opting for using verbal communication.

"Not yet." He hissed at James. James's face only became yet more bewildered. "Lily said not to tell yet." Sirius hinted. Comprehension dawned on James's face and he sat down again, lips clamped shut and longs legs dangling over the edge of the sofa.

"What was that all about, darling?" Mrs Potter asked her son curiously, for she had been watching the scene unfold, and never knew enough about the antics of her child and her pseudo son.

"Nothing." James smiled benignly at his mother, playing innocent but being not quite totally convincing. James wasn't a good actor at all; the Hogwarts play reenacting the founding of Hogwarts had kicked him out for his terrible skills. That and the fact that he had set of twenty-six dungbombs off backstage a half hour before the first show. He was a good liar, though, when it was required for any pranks. His mum wasn't one of the top aurors in the country for nothing.

"I can tell when you're lying, James." She reminded him.

"I'm not lying." He quickly responded. His mum gave him what he and Sirius had dubbed 'the look'. "Fine." He relented. Sirius shot him a quick look. "I'll tell you why Sirius did that." James glanced at Sirius quickly – too quick for Mrs Potter to notice, but slow enough for Sirius to see. He jumped in with the explanation.

"Well, Maria," Sirius began. She arched an eyebrow.

"My name isn't Maria." She reminded him, shaking her head. The boy had been living with her for over a year, and yet he still couldn't remember her name.

"Knarl, Kneazle." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "So, Daphne." he continued. Mrs Potter sighed; he was never going to get her name right. "You see my good friend James here had conjured himself into quite a conundrum." Sirius pronounced, looking quite pleased with himself for coming up with alliterating words.

"Now, I'm going to be the best friend he knows I am, and dump him straight into it." He smirked devilishly. James made frantic gestures with his hands behind his mother's back, attempting to signal Sirius into stopping his speech. Sirius' grin only broadened with every movement of James's arms.

"James here has a g-" Sirius was cut of just like James had been earlier on in the night; with a hand clamped over his mouth. However, this time Sirius won over James easily and quickly. He bit down hard into James's palm, and the messy haired boy howled in pain. He bent his knees when Sirius turned around to crow his victory to Mrs Potter, ready to leap onto his back and wrestle him to the ground.

"James has a girlfriend!" Sirius yelled out, a sudden shout in the previously quiet room. James, who had previously been ready to pounce on his friend, froze in his crouch position, his head swivelling to look at his mother. She stared back at him, no outward sign of surprise aside from a slight widening of the eyes.

She raised her eyebrows, cocked her head to the side and placed a hand on her slim waist. To the boys, this was a foreboding stance.

"James, is this true?" she asked. James's gaze shifted for a moment to his friend, glaring at him furiously before straightening up and nodding morosely. Mrs Potter only raised her eyebrows even further. "And why haven't you told me in the three weeks we've been back since the end of term?" She questioned him. "Or you could have written. I do recall buying you an owl last year, you know." She reminded him.

James looked down in shame and shrugged. Only his mother could discipline him like that.

"I forgot?" he tried cheekily, looking up at his mum hopefully. His hands, clasped together in front of him, twisted tightly together. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, something he only did when he was truly nervous or scared. He cowered slightly underneath the weight of his mother's stern gaze.

"Says the boy who can remember to tell me all about every single prank you've performed since you've entered that school in first year." Her gaze intensified as James shrunk back. Sirius watched this all with a great amusement, his grin widening with every remark that was made.

He lounged back onto the comfy sofa, his arm lying across the back of it and picking at a flaking patch of leather that he knew he would only have to repair later. Finally, after several long minutes of no conversing whatsoever, he decided to intervene.

"Alright then." He began, clapping his hands together and standing up, "It's getting a bit boring, so I'm going to spice things up a bit." The two Potters were both looking at him, confusion marring their similar faces. "Prongs, just get on with it." James narrowed his eyes at his fellow marauder.

"What?"

"When are you going to tell your mum that you're dating Lily?" Sirius' face froze in one of horror at the realisation that he had just said that out loud. The expression would have been funny to James not given the situation. This time, he did jump. James lunged for Sirius who was now developing smirk on his face, tackling him to the ground before Sirius could even react. The two boys wrestled together for a moment before both being flung to each end of the room.

James slid down the wall, grasping at his arm and wincing painfully as Sirius slumped onto the floor seemingly unconscious on the opposite wall. Mrs Potter sighed and lowered her wand slowly before making her way over to her son.

"Sometimes I forget the strength of my own shield charms." She murmured. "Episkey." She drew her wand down James's arm and he shivered once, before flexing it and grinning. He shook his head and jumped up, stalking over to Sirius and pointing his wand at his body.

"Avis sequor cras, rennervate." He said. His mother looked at him questionly as Sirius shook himself awake. "It'll make birds follow him around all day tomorrow." He told her over his shoulder. "It's something I made up. It gets quite annoying." He grinned mischievously. He didn't tell her that it had been the said Lily who had inspired the formation of the spell. He presented his hand to Sirius to help him up.

Sirius promptly grabbed his hand and yanked it towards his chest, causing James to come tumbling down on top of him. The two boys lay there for a moment, their limbs entangled and not quite sure how to get out of their awkward position.

James pulled his arm away and tried to push himself of the ground, but one of his legs was underneath Sirius' chest, so he just flopped straight back down onto the other boy. Meanwhile, Sirius was trying to extract his hand from where James had trapped it between his foot and the wall; but to no avail.

A red owl swooped into the room through the open window and settled itself on top of the heavily filled bookcase. It preened its feathers, looking down at the two teenage boys disinterestedly. James immediately jumped up and made his way towards it, accidently elbowing Sirius in the face and standing on his hand.

He ignored Sirius' choicest curse words and reached up for the owl. Seeming to recognise him, it slowly glided down and sat on its arm. It tucked its head underneath his arm, for it was an unusually shy owl.

James gently pulled the letter from its grip and stroked it softly. The owl nipped at his finger lightly before flying off, out of the open window and back the way it had came. Mrs Potter was looking at the owl curiously, but Sirius had a jubilant expression on his face – as if his birthday had come early.

James sighed and pocketed the envelope without opening it. He would do so later, in the quiet privacy of his room. "That was Lily's owl, Valentina." He said in way of explanation. "She seemed to be able to find the only red owl in the shop. She said it matched her hair." He smiled as he remembered the day he had brought it for her.

"_James, honestly, you don't have to but me anything!" Lily told him as they walked down the sunny streets of Hogsmeade together on their first real date._

"_But I want to." He smiled, poking her on the nose lightly before resuming the swinging of their hands. "Besides, its Valentine's day." He shrugged. Lily rolled her eyes._

"_And you know how much I love this cheesy holiday." She said flatly.__ Sarcasm oozed through her voice.__ James grinned but said nothing, just leading her into Hogsmeade's only shop that sold animals. There you could buy anything from treats for your newt, to a kneazle (but only with a licence, of course)._

_Lily's eyes widened as soon as she had entered the bustling shop. The large room was full of life, cages of every type of animal you could imagine on all sides, barrels full of treats and, unfortunately, a floor covered with animal droppings._

_Lily was too enthralled with her surroundings to be aware of this though, he noted. She was gazing around at every animal she could see. She cooed at the charmed pink mice – _'Just for ladies on their special day'_–, she stroked the fur coats of the cats, she wrinkled her delicate nose at the toads, but most of all she admired the thick plumages of the owls._

_They were all lined up on a rafter by the ceiling. There were many different types of then –majestic snowys, sleepy barns, small grey annoying ones that wouldn't stop whizzing around James's head, loud screech owls, and many other different owls that he couldn't name. But the one that stood out the most was clearly the bright red one on the end._

_For a moment James had thought that it was charmed, for it was so vibrant; the same thing he had thought about Lily's hair when he first met her. It was slightly on the small side, but its big intelligent eyes drifted around there room, and it bristled as it knew that it was being watched._

_Lily had instantly turned to James, having set her heart upon that ginger owl in less than two seconds of seeing it. Her emerald eyes were bright with longing. How could James say no to those eyes?_

"_Alright, you can have it." he told her, knowing her so well that she hadn't needed to say anything. She beamed and flew at him, hugging him so tightly that he had been afraid for his rapidly decreasing store of air. "Can't – breathe." He somehow managed to choke out. She gave him one last squeeze before releasing him. James took a large lungful of air, and grinned down at his innocent looking date._

"_Thank you!" she squealed, her eyes glistening with gratitude. James simply smiled at her before taking her hand again and leading her to the counter of the shop. He leant over the tarnished wood and whistled sharply for the assistant's attention._

_A young woman, maybe in her early twenties, made her way through the crowd and stopped only when she was behind the counter. Her dirty blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a sloppy bun, and he work robes were ripped and covered in fur and feathers. The wonky nametag on the front of her robe told them that she was called Paige. She looked tired, but still smiled brightly at the couple._

"_What can I help you with?" she asked them. James looked at Lily, signalling her to speak._ "_Um, please could I buy that red owl up there?" she had asked timidly. __For someone who was so bold when pulling pranks on the Marauders, she was awfully shy when it came to meeting strangers. __She pointed to the red owl as she did so, and Paige's eyes followed the direction of her gesture. __Both of her__ eyebrows rose in one fluid motion, and she looked back at the two questionly._

"_Are you sure? Not many people seem to like that owl." She checked, but Lily just nodded and smiled. The assistant shrugged her shoulders and pulled some owl treats out of her pocket, stepping out from behind the counter and stretching her arm out._

"_Reddie!" she called, trying to make eye contact with the owl in question, but it resolutely stared away. "Reddie!" it didn't react to her second call at all. Lily frowned and stepped forwards._

"_Reddie!" she called once. The red owl swivelled its head to look at her, then swept down to stand on her outstretched arm. Paige looked over at her with admiration._

"_Well done. Not many people can get Reddie to come to them. She's a stubborn owl. Shy, but stubborn." She walked back to the counter and fiddled with the old till. She wrote something down on a small pad of paper before spiking it onto short stick next to her, which also held many other pieces of paper._

"_That'll be 10 galleons, please." James nodded and pulled out the requested money from a hidden pocket he had a house elf sew inside his jacket. She smiled at him and took the money, adding it to the till and pressing a few buttons to get the usual ding._

"_One more thing." She requested, just as they were about to turn to leave. They looked at her enquiringly. "Red owls are endangered, so take good care of her, won't you?" Lily grinned brilliantly and nodded her agreement. "__Well then ,h__ave a nice day!" the witch called as they exited the busy shop._

_Lily was still fawning over her new pet when they got back to the castle._

"_I thought you didn't want me to buy you gifts." He teased her__.__He wrapped his arm__ around her shivering shoulders._

"_That was silly.__" She admitted her eyes still on her sleeping bird. "__You're my boyfriend - you should always buy me presents." She smiled wickedly at him before resuming her stroking of the red owl. James's eyes widened and it took him a few moments for him to regain his speech._

"_You're – you're my girlfriend?" he croaked. Lily swung her head around to look at him and giggled at the expression on his face._

"_Of course you are, you dopey." She smiled, squeezing his hand. James's face was still dazed when he resumed their conversation._

"_So, what are you going to call her?" he asked about her new owl. Lily thought for a moment before a word formed on her lips._

"_Valentina." She pronounced. "After a perfect first date." And with those words, she had stood on her tip toes, presented a soft kiss on her cheek, and left for the Owlery without another word, her red hair swinging behind her._

_James reached up to hold his hand over the cheek she had just kissed, a grin already forming over the dazed expression his face held._

James smiled again at the fond memory of his. Mrs Potter looked questioningly at her son from next to Sirius, who was still rubbing his head.

"What does it say?" she prompted. James shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know. He said simply. "I haven't read it yet." Mrs Potter rolled her eyes at him.

"Am I really going to have to ask you?" she said. At James's apparent blank look she sighed. "Read it!"

"Oh!" James said. "Why didn't you just tell me before?" He pulled the now slightly crumpled letter out of his pocket and smoothed the creases out of it. He pushed his nail underneath the seal and opened the letter, pulling the piece of muggle paper out of the envelope.

His eyes jumped straight to the bottom of the page long letter, to the signature. His eyes scanned it for authenticity, and then he held it up to the light as if checking for a watermark. Once he had deduced that it was in fact from Lily, not from Sirius as he had once been tricked by before, he began reading it.

_Dear James,_

_How are your holidays? Yes, I know I only wrote to you two days ago but I'm bored again. Why is it that during the school term I always want the holidays to come, but when the eventually do come I have nothing to do? Never mind, don't answer that. It's sort of a rhetorical question anyway._

_Bugger, I really should stop saying holidays, shouldn't I? It's _leave_. Why does the Auror's Office not start training until September? Everyone else had jobs already, and I'm just whittling away here at my boring home._

_I haven't done much yet this holiday – and we're three weeks in! Mum has been keeping me busy (or trying to – she forgets that I can use magic) with preparing for Petunia's wedding to that whale of a man. You met him, didn't you? On the platform three weeks ago, I think._

_Anyway, all I've been doing is choosing table settings and what cutlery to use – why does it matter anyway? Honestly, when I get married I'm just going to use whatever is cheapest and easiest! We already have cutlery – why does she need to buy more?_

_At the moment Petunia is trying to decide whether to have pink or purple petunias – yes, I know, how cliché! Honestly, I don't think there's even any difference between pink and purple. She should try something in between._

_And the dresses! Oh, don't get me started on then! They're absolutely horrid. Petunia's dress is huge, like a gypsy dress with frills everywhere. And it's not even white – it's that type of cream colour that only old ladies wear! It has a huge bow on the back which makes her look like she has a bum, and it has a filled in corset to make her look like she has a chest. Normally, when she tries it on I try not to gag – and you should see the whale in a tux! Urgh._

_My dress is almost as bad, too. She has me wearing a detestable magenta pink that clashes with my hair so badly. It's also really frumpy, completely hiding my figure with all of the ripples in the fabric. I swear that she did it on purpose!_

_Moving on, I've only seen a couple of my friends so far – but I'm willing to bet good money that you've seen each of the marauders every day this holiday! As you might know, Jenny and Emmeline are both on holiday abroad – Italy for both of them, I'm so jealous! __Jenny managed to get time off from work and Marlene, as you know, Emmeline is going to do Auror training with us._

_Alice is still on a load of missions, so I haven't seen her ye__t – curses for her being a year older than me__. Hey! Did you know that she and Frank got engaged? She wrote to tell me last week – she'll be Alice Longbottom __soon__!_

_I have seen Marlene though, and Dorca__s – when they get away from their part-time jobs.__ Marlene is going away next week though, and I'm not that close to Dorcas, so I won't have anyone left! I'm going to take up painting or something now; I'm going to get that bored!_

_Enough about me, how are you? Are you and Sirius causing as much mischief at home as you do at school? I'm half expecting to get The Prophet one morning and seeing that two youths have been arrested for spray painting the Ministry of Magic of something! I'm surprised you haven't blown up your house yet._

_I must say though, and this might come as a big shock to you, but I was quite impressed with your end of year prank this year! Charming the whole of Slytherin's hair different shades of green overnight really was extraordinary magic – I still don't know how you did it!_

_I don't even mind that you pranked __Snape either – he actually deserved it this time! I liked how you incorporated the Slytherin colours into it – they all had streaks of silver in their hair, making them look ten years older! How long did you say that it would last again? Wasn't it two weeks? Fantastic magic! I suspect that Remus did most of the brain work though!_

_How are your parents? I know that it must be hard for you to keep us a secret from them, but I'd really like to tell them in person. Maybe I could come over at some point – not to be pushy, or anything! My parents already know about us, thanks to the love letter you sent me last week that Petunia saw – she's such a blabber mouth. Thanks for that, by the way. It was really sweet!_

_Are you free today? Maybe we could do something? I feel like going out somewhere – maybe to the beach? Summer is the time for sunbathing, James! I feel like going down to the sea – perfect weather for it._

_Ignore my last paragraph. It's just started raining. Ah, well. James, how about it, are you free today?_

_Reply to me soon with Valentina! I expect that she's flying around outside your house right now – she doesn't like a lot of people._

_I'll (hopefully) see you later._

_Love, Lily_

_x_

James's heart skipped a beat as he read the last line – he would never get used to the fact that Lily was his. _His. _

Lily was free today. James's heart ached to go and see her, or to ask her to come here, but his mother was home today.

"So?" Mrs Potter encouraged. "What did the letter say?"

"She's free today." James blurted out without thinking. Behind them, Sirius palmed his face with his hand and banged his head against the wall in exasperation. James's mother smiled with delight.

"Perfect!" she declared. "She can come over for a late lunch. I'll floo David and tell him to meet us here." She smiled as she said all of this, pulling her wand out again and making suitable adjustments to the messy family room. She carried on nattering on about arrangements that needed to be made – food, drinks, where to eat.

She flicked her wand around the room, straightening cushions that had fallen on their side; opening the drapes to draw light into the shady room (Sirius and James winced as the bright light hit their sleepy eyes); closed open cupboard doors and swept up the crumbs from the floor. Just as she was reviving some carnations in a vase that were slowly dying, James interrupted her.

"Mum – do you have to meet her today?" he asked tentatively. Mrs Potter turned to meet her son's gaze, the flowers behind her visibly wilting as she did so. Her shoulders slumped and James instantly felt guilty.

"Oh, alright then. But, James, you know that this is the last day the auror office will let me have off field work this holiday, don't you? I'll be on missions for the next three weeks – I won't have time to meet her." She had deflated over her speech, and her wand arm was held loosely by her side. James instantly tried to make it better.

"Sorry mum, I didn't mean it like that." He grabbed a quill and piece of parchment from the desk next to the bookshelf and showed them to his mother. "Look, I'll write to her now and invite her over for lunch, okay?" His mother smiled to him in response.

"Good." And with that final word, she conjured up a pink feather duster and began to dust the corners of the room by hand; James knew that this soothed her.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius clapped James on his back. "Hard luck, mate." He consoled, quite missing the glare that James was fiercely giving him. "C'mon, let's go up to your room to write that letter."

James grudgingly agreed and together they trudged up the worn stairs. James threw open the door to his room, stumbled past the mess on the floor, and flopped down onto his unmade bed. He groaned into the pillows. He muttered something that was somewhat muted by the quilt, and Sirius leant forward to listen.

"I didn't quite catch that." He remarked to the back of James's head. In reply, James rolled over onto his back so that his head and toes dangled over the sides of the bed.

"What am I going to do?" he repeated quietly; Sirius could still barely hear him. He shrugged at his best friend.

"I don't know – just invite her over, I guess. Ask Moony." Asking Remus Lupin was the boy's solution to most things. He was the mastermind of the group, and he was the one who had helped James to become less, as he called it, 'prattish' for Seventh Year.

James sat up promptly at his words, and then immediately pressed a hand to his head, wincing. "Head rush." He mumbled in response to Sirius's inquisitive glance. He perked up as the pain quickly faded away. "Yeah – I'll ask Moony. Where is he at the moment? Would it be quicker to owl him or just apparate to him directly?" these seemed to be rhetorical questions, so Sirius neglected to answer. James nodded as he answered the question in his head; Sirius was used to this. "Okay, I'll go there." He looked up. "Are you coming?" he asked.

"Of course." Sirius grinned and threw himself onto the bed so that it bounced, causing James to knock his head on the headboard.

"Ouch." He muttered, before jumping up

from the bed and strolling to the edge of the messy room, where the doors to his own balcony were propped open. He made his way outside and took a deep breath, reviving himself in the fresh air. He heard the faint squeak of his rusted bed springs and then Sirius was standing next to him. Sirius nudged his arm with his elbow.

"You alright?" he asked curiously. James looked down at the ground two floors down, and shrugged.

"Yeah." He replied. "I guess. Just something to get my head around, you know. It goes from our relationship being pretty much a secret, to my mum wanting her to meet them." Sirius nodded. He didn't really understand it, but he knew how to be reassuring from watching Remus do it for years. James turned to Sirius but still leant on the iron railings of his balcony.

"I don't know if she's this serious – she might think we're moving too fast." A worried crease appeared between his furrowed eyebrows. Sirius patted him on the back consolingly.

"The only thing you can do at the moment is to talk to Moony." He said, and then he grinned. "It's full moon in three days." James grinned too, shaking his head.

"How come you can remember the exact timings of the moon phrases, but couldn't even remember the times for your NEWTs? I'm still surprised that they let you have a re-sit after you turned up two hours late for the Transfiguration exam." Sirius gave James his most winning smile.

"And I got an Outstanding." He reminded him. James rolled his eyes at his best friend and swung one leg over the railings, following it with his other leg until he was standing on the thin ledge between the railings and the edge of the balcony. Sirius promptly did the same and the two stood there for a moment, balancing only with their arms. They looked at each other and grinned, before saying the words each other was thinking.

"To Moony's?" one said.

"To Moony's." the other confirmed. With these parting words, the two unanimously did the most dangerous stunt they had ever come up with. They stepped off the ledge.

James let himself freefall for a second longer than Sirius, enjoying the pure feeling of freedom that it always brought him. The adrenaline was why he did it; the rush of blood to the head, the exhilarating speed at which the air rushed past his face.

A second away from the ground, James spun in midair and disappeared, only to reappear somewhere else entirely. Sirius was already there, picking himself up from the Lupin's smaller, although just as immaculate lawn.

"You're going to be the death of yourself." Sirius told his friend as he shakily stood up, a faintly amused, but irritated expression gracing his handsome face. "I don't really want to have to clear up your remains from the ground underneath the balcony."

James shrugged and leant down to pick up a small stone from the garden path. He examined it for a glancing moment, before flicking it out of his hand at the second floor window with its curtains drawn. It bounced harmlessly off, and James smiled at the fact.

"He's gotton smarter," he remarked to Sirius. "He's gone and put an imperturbable charm on it." He lobbed another stone at the window for good measure, just to make sure. Again, it simply rebounded and landed at the ground by their feet. Sirius smirked, whipping his wand out from his pocket and holding it in both of his hands.

"Good thing we know the counter-charm then." He smirked. He flicked his 15-inch wand at the window and it flew open. A brown haired head stuck its way outside, its face showing annoyance at the disturbance.

His gaunt face was aged more than its years and lined with scars, the longest starting at his chin and ending at his eyebrow. His dark brown hair was combed neatly sideways to keep out of his face, and his red shirt was buttoned almost to the top. The top of his blue jeans could just be seen over the sill of the open window. His worn hands rested on the windowsill to keep his balance, and they too were rough and calloused. He had a tough look about him; not that he was extraordinarily strong or powerful, just that he could withstand anything that was thrown his way. His cool blue eyes scrutinised the scene below him.

"Do you mind?" he asked them, not even surprised that they had just randomly appeared on his front lawn in the middle of summer. "I'm trying to finish anarithmancy essay here!" Sirius groaned.

"C'mon, Moony!" he shouted up. "It's the middle of summer!" Remus rolled his eyes in irritation, but leaned further out of the window to talk to them better.

"What do you want this time? I did the coursework for your astronomy resit last week! And I know you two won't have run out of pranks already." he said them. Sirius huffed, crossing his arms indigently.

"It's nice that you think so much of two of your best friends." He protested. "And you _helped_ me with that astronomy coursework." Remus sighed loudly enough for the boys two floors down on the ground to hear it.

"No, I _did_ your coursework." He corrected tiredly. "Listen, I'm happy that you're here and all of that, but is it urgent? It's only that it's full moon in a few days and I was really hoping for a few hours of sleep after I finish this essay. Will it take long?" he asked. "I don't have the strength to go gallivanting around the country with you two at the moment." James shrugged.

"It's alright. I only wanted to talk." He said complacently. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Why does that sound like a break up line?" he teased, a grin forming on his strained face. "And why don't I quite believe it?"

Sirius imitated James with a casual shrug. "Probably because he isn't telling the truth." He told Remus honestly while James's mouth fell open in shock.

"I told you what I was coming here for!" he hit Sirius on the arm, hard enough that he stumbled to the side to avoid the full force of the blow. "You were there!" he swiftly made to hit Sirius again, but this time he had anticipated it and ducked out of the way. "It's about Lily." James explained. Remus nodded in understanding.

"Ah. How is our Tiger Lily?" he asked, smiling. He really was happy for James; he had finally got the girl he had wanted to be with for countless years, and he had yet to see a couple better suited to each other. Sirius groaned.

"I thought we were going to call her Daffadily!" he argued. Now it was Remus' turn to look confused.

"I thought you liked Lilium?" he frowned. Sirius shook his head and waved his hand.

"Nah, that was Peter."

"Are you sure? I swear it was you." Remus retaliated. James was watching the conversation between the two, the look of frustration on his face growing with each exchange. His hands had found their way to his hips and his brow was furrowed.

As the two looked towards James for confirmation as to who was right, they tried to stifle their laughs at his amusing posture. At least Remus tried to be polite. Sirius was full out roaring with laughter at his best friend, who only grew more aggravated.

"What are you laughing at now?" he declared crossly, the hands on his hips moulding themselves into fists. This only fuelled Sirius's laughter further, while Remus started laughing too. Eventually, Sirius was lying on the floor, while Remus was hanging out of the window; both laughing their heads off. James sighed. Once Sirius started laughing, he didn't stop.

With one swift turn, he vanished out of the garden – not that Sirius noticed – and reappeared in a tidy bedroom only a few metres away.

"Moony!" he cried, tugging his friend by the sleeve away from the window. "What's so funny?" Remus opened his mouth to reply, but Jams cut him off, waving his hand in dismissal. "Never mind. I need your help!" he had grabbedRemus forcefully by the front of his red-checked shirt, shaking him not too gently. "I'm desperate!"

Remus carefully prised James' hands off of his shirt, smoothed it down, and shut the window, drowning out Sirius's maniac laughter. He sat down on his previously occupied desk chair, and gestured for James to sit on his bed. "What do you need?" he asked softly, as if he were a therapist trying to find out his patient's deepest secrets. James sighed deeply.

"Lily's got to meet my parents." He said. Remus raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing. He had possessed a feeling that it would be about James's adored girlfriend. James continued."And I don't know how to ask her."

"Ah." He repeated. "I see your problem." He crossed his legs and put his hands around his knees. "How do you need my help?" he questioned. James rolled his eyes from his relaxed position on Remus's bed.

"Cut the act, Moony, I'm serious." He told him. A grin spread across Remus's face.

"No, you're James." He joked, but James groaned at the much overused pun. "I know, I know. I just like messing with you." He grinned and relaxed. He leant back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "So, do you want me to help you to write it?" James smiled widely, nodding enthusiastically. "Well, I can't do that." James's face fell again.

"What, why not?" he demanded. "I don't have much time to write it! Mum is already preparing for lunch! She thinks I've already sent it!" Remus grinned.

"You should write it yourself – just say what you think and don't count on me! It's your relationship, not mine." Remus explained as James groaned, running his hands through his already messy hair.

"Yeah, and you know whose fault that is, don't you? Dorcas clearly likes you! Anyway, nice seeing you, Remus." James smiled forcefully. "I'm sure Sirius can keep you company now." He stood up abruptly and turned to leave the room.

"Prongs!" Remus called tiredly after his friend's retreating back. James spun around quickly, hope spreading across his face. "Good luck." James sighed again in defeat and swiftly turned away again. He walked softly out of the room as not to disturb Remus's parents who were well known for sleeping in late.

When he was out of their potential hearing vacancy, he stomped over to the still laughing a promptly prodded him sharply in the side with his wand.

"Oi. I'm going now, are you coming?" He snapped. He wasn't in a good mood due to Remus's impromptu rejection. Sirius looked up from his crouched stance and straightened up. He smoothed out his features with practiced precision, though his eyes still sparkled good humouredly.

"Huh?" he said confusedly. "We've only been here 5 minutes. I haven't even seen Remus yet." James looked at his friend guiltily. His face softened as he looked at his bewildered friend.

"It's alright." He smiled. "You can stay. I just have to get back home to write Lily the letter." He explained. He knew that he was being unfair, but he was had no idea what to write. He and Lily hadn't talked to each other yet about their developing relationship, and he didn't know quite where they stood.

Sirius smiled gratefully at James and patted him on the back sympathetically. He gave him a look of a sheepish – what can I do? – and weakly smiled at him. Then he turned away, choosing to scale the wall up to Remus's window via the rickety drainpipe that was not at all securely attached to the brickwork. James palmed a hand to his face. That boy was more likely to get himself killed doing simple things than in the impending war – and that was, unfortunately, saying a lot.

James ran a hand through his hair before turning away from Sirius's impending doom. He took a deep breath before spinning on the spot, thinking _Destination__, Determination, Deliberation_. He pivoted through the vacuum of empty space, all of the while fighting to breathe against the compressing rods constricting his chest.

He stumbled when he landed on his balcony again, gasping for air. It took a lot of effort from him to get the concentration and precision needed to land on his balcony; a couple of centimetres out and he could be plummeting through thin air to the not so soft ground below.

Wrenching open the rusty old doors, he stumbled into his room and fell face first onto his bed. He lay there for a few moments before he realised what he had to do. Groaning, he rolled back over and stood up, stretching his arms out again.

James kicked aside some of the junk littering his floor as he approached his equivalently messy desk.

Most of the clutter was just clothes, but there was some paperwork and old quills dotted in there somewhere. All of the books James owned were piled up in the corner of the room, pushed out of the way to make space for his king-sized bed. A couple of tired magazines littered the floor, and an empty box of Chocolate Cauldrons lay half underneath his bed.

James frowned as he stumbled over a small toy cauldron and tripped onto another pile of clothing. Unabashed, he swore noisily as his feet tangled in his discarded clothes. His muddy shoes ensured that they were coated with another layer of dirt before they ever made their way to the wash.

James scowled again as he kicked his foot soundly into the solid wood of his bedpost. He swore loudly, choosing only to employ his favourite curse words as he hopped around on his good foot.

Managing to hurt himself at least six more times on the way, James collapsed onto his desk chair and set it spinning. Wincing at his twice stubbed toe, he pulled a sheet of parchment towards him and fished a quill out of the old jar he kept them in. He unscrewed a new pot of ink and dipped the quill into it.

His hand paused over the paper while he deliberated about what to write.

_Dear Lily,_

He started, before pausing again. He had no idea how to begin the letter; Remus had been supposed to help him with that.

_I don't quite know how to start this, but I need to ask you something. I don't have much time to write at the moment, so this letter might be a little shorter than usual._

He stopped and his quill hovered over his words. How did he ask Lily to meet his parent? It wasn't supposed to be this hard; everyone said that relationships were easy. Or maybe he had that quote wrong.

He sighed deeply, and then just decided to be straight with her. He pressed the quill tip to the paper for a few seconds too long, making a blotch of ink, but he didn't mind. He contemplated his wording.

_This might be sudden, or even a bit blunt, but it just came up today and I don't know how else to ask you. Basically, my mum wants to meet you. My dad too, if he can make it._

_She saw the earlier letter you sent me (thanks for that, by the way!) and saw that you were free today. Okay, okay, I can't lie to you, I blurted it out. Whoops?_

_Anyway, she's making preparations for lunch and everything – she wants me to invite you over so she can meet the infamous 'Lily Evan'._

_You can blame Sirius for telling my mum about our relationship. I was all for waiting until you said it would be okay (what an awesome boyfriend I am)but he just told my mum that I was going out with you. So BLAME SIRIUS. Just making myself clear!_

_So are you free later for lunch? At around one? I can come to your house to pick you p if you'd like to – I know you haven't been to my house before, and I don't want you to get lost._

_See you later? (Please don't hate me!)_

_Love, James_

_X_

James scanned the letter again before smiling in satisfaction. It would have to do. He folded it up carefully and slipped it into an envelope before writing Lily's name and address on the outside of it. He fastened it with one of the Potter wax seals that his dad always insisted that he used. 'For formality, son.' He had said.

James stuck his upper torso out of the window and attempted to coax Valentina inside. Currently, she was flying around the broom shed in large circles. James placed two of his fingers inside of his mouth and whistled sharply twice. At the shrill sound, Valentina startled and glided up to where James was waiting for her.

She landed gently on his arm and he gave her the envelope, which she immediately grabbed with her beak.

"This is for Lily, alright?" he told her as he stroked her wing feathers softly. She nipped his finger affectionately and flew out of the open window. He heard the sound of her hoot drift back to her before she disappeared out of sight into the clouds.

Pleased that the offending task was out of the way he smiled brightly, but then groaned again as he realised the long wait for Lily's dreaded reply.

His mother found him almost an hour later pacing circles around his spacious room.

"You're going to wear holes into the carpet if you keep doing that, you know." She told him. James jumped at the sound of her voice, his arm twitching for his wand in the split second of unfamiliarity before he recognised her. He pressed his hand to his racing heart.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" he chastised her. "Do you want to kill you only son?" she merely shrugged dismissively at him as she leant in the open doorway.

"Meh, I've always got Sirius." She reminded him. James gasped loudly and clutched a hand to his chest dramatically.

"I'm wounded, woman!" he said mock indignantly. "And you call yourself my mother!" she smirked at him; anyone could clearly see where James got his troublesome streak from. "Would you choose him over me?" he asked; he couldn't help but be curious.

"Anytime." She replied, grinning impishly at him before waltzing out of the room and closing the door behind her. James smiled at his mother's antics, but didn't have much time to do anything as the door swung open again and his mother's head popped in. "And don't forget to get ready!" then she left again.

It was a while before James rose from his seated position on his comfy chair to get ready. He hopped in the shower before deciding what to wear, spraying himself down quickly before drying himself with his wand using a handy trick he had picked up among the years.

He pulled on muggle clothes; he was going to a muggle neighbourhood, but he made them smart enough for his mother's approval.

He selected a forest green dress shirt to pair with the black trousers his mother always made him wear. He polished up his smart shoes and pulled them onto his feet, wincing as he realised that his feet had grown since he had last worn them. He attempted to flatten down his hair – of course, to no avail.

James stood in front of the mirror and appraised his reflection. The boy looked similar to him, but it just wasn't _him_. The boy was just to prim and proper to be _James Potter_. Deciding to forget his mother's wishes, he pulled off the ironed clothes and threw them to the ground, rolling his shoulders to get rid of the itchiness. He decided to try a new approach; to appease his mother but to be himself.

When he stood in front of the mirror for the second time that morning, he was pleased with the results. He had chosen the least ripped pair of navy jeans that he could find (though there were still some tears; animagi were bound to get their clothes destroyed somehow). Adding his favourite – and only - midnight blue casual but smart shirt, he had pulled on his worn red converses and finished the look. His mum couldn't say anything about his attire in front of _company_.

The hair, of course, would not do anything he told it to do so he just let it do what it wished. He glanced at the watch his mum had presented him with for his seventeenth birthday and cursed. Lily's owl had flown back earlier saying that she would love to meet his parents, and could he please pick her up at one? It was almost ten past.

James wasn't usually one to mind being late – in fact, he had been late all of the time when he was back in school – but he never wanted to be late to see his girlfriend.

Girlfriend. That word felt foreign on his tongue whenever he said it. He'd never had a girlfriend before Lily, or even any attempt at forming a steady relationship with anyone. It had always been her; no matter how wrong the word girlfriend sounded, the words 'James and Lily' always sounded right.

Swearing all of the while, he jumped off the balcony, spun in mid air, and landed firmly around the corner of the street from Lily's house; it wouldn't do to let any muggles see him appear from thin air.

He ran up the street, practically sprinting before he screeched to a stop outside Number 47 Bridleway Road, Spinner's End. He hesitated before he raised his fist and rapped sharply on the door three times.

The door almost instantly opened and a red haired girl stepped out, glancing behind her as she shut the door to see if anyone had seen her. James gave her an inquisitive look, to which she shrugged.

"I thought that you could meet them another day." She explained. "I said I was going to Alice's house. They like Alice." She didn't let J ames reply before she grabbed his hand from where it was hanging loosely by his side and almost dragging him around the corner of the street, to where James had apparated to. When they got there, she dropped his hand and smiled.

The empty street they were now standing in led to a park, so they made their way there, ambling slowly – there was no rush. They perched themselves on the red rusted swings.

James didn't say anything, simply taking in his girlfriend's appearance. He hadn't seen her in over a week, and he didn't know how he could have even begun to forget how beautiful she was. The air seemed to glow around her, the beauty radiating off of her in waves making everything seem brighter.

Her fiery red hair was released from its usual ponytail and cascaded down her back, making her pale face seem whiter than usual; _like an angel's_, James thought. She was dressed simply in black jeans and a green t-shirt, but to James she seemed perfect.

His eyes travelled over her luscious pink lips and her small nose, before settling on the thing he had saved until last. Her eyes. They were clearly the best feature of her – even though she was extraordinarily pretty, it was her eyes that drew people in.

They were large and bright, always seeming to give out a curious look, and a feeling of innocence. They were an enchanting emerald green colour, the best of greens that James had ever seen. They sparkled in the light, the glowing orbs looking at him; only at him. He still couldn't believe that she was his.

"Thanks for inviting me over." She started the conversation, smiling widely. James shook himself out of his trance to listen to her. She laughed loudly, without abandon. He loved the sound. "I thought I was going to die of boredom." She grinned. James smiled at her, leaning in to tuck some of her wild hair behind her ear.

"Damn it." James said softly. "I was hoping for a new girlfriend." Lily threw her head back and laughed again. She didn't believe his words; everyone knew of James's infatuation with Lily. What most people were mystified by was Lily's feelings for James.

"I knew it." She chuckled. "All of the girls must be ready to eat you right up." He grinned at her. "Well, duh. I'm irresistible." He smirked, before resuming a more serious expression. "But seriously, I'll always be here to rescue you from boredom." Lily blushed and smiled shyly. "And having you over only makes our relationship seem more real." He continued.

Lily sighed and took his face gently between her hands, sighing deeply, but still knowing inside that he would still have doubts about her feelings. She smiled softly as his hazel eyes met her emerald ones; complimenting colours together.

"When are you going to get it into the numskull brain of yours?" she asked him. Somehow, James could sense that it was a rhetorical question so stayed quiet and declined to answer. "We're together now." She leant over to kiss him softly on the corner of his lips.

Then she stood up from the creaking swings, taking a deep breath as if preparing herself for some sort of mental battle. James, sensing that this was about to become an important moment, joined her on his feet. Lily took another deep breath,

"In fact, James," she stated coyly, cocking her head to the side as she curiously examined him for his reaction. "I love you." James's head whirled. Without knowing what he was really doing, he leant down and pulled her to him, one hand pressed gently to her face, the other tentatively resting on her waist.

He smirked at her before swooping down to give her a passionate kiss, to which she responded in kind. Her fists knotted into his already messy hair, and his hands tightened on their previous positions. When the two finally broke apart they were both breathing heavily.

James rested his forehead against hers as he worked on slowing his breathing and his erratic heart. It didn't help his heart that every time Lily breathed out, her breath fluttered over his face like a cool breeze.

"I'd always figured that I would say that to you first." He told her calmly. "But I guess I'll have to settle for second." Lily smiled as she entwined her fingers in his; she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"I love you, too." They both smiled at each other, wrapped in their own world.

"Now let's go and meet the parents."


End file.
